RE: Trying to make up my mind...

["j.hironaka" <j.hironaka@unesco.org>]

At 14:38 06/08/01 -0400, Berry, Mark  S wrote:
>The Sixers gave up a respectable role player and a first-round pick to get 
>Moiso. There was
>no contract advantage or anything like that for them. They wanted Moiso. 
>So there was interest.

Boston had what an opening to trade Moiso to Philly for the following reasons:

1) Philly management had made a commitment this offseason to dump a 
headcase in Tyrone Hill...a guy who's nickname was "Ty Maintenance" 
according to the Peter May column.
2) Philly also lost their backup center in Todd MacCulloch.
3) Philly needs to win now, not say in 2008 when Dikimbe Mutombo will be 
65-years-old.

I don't think Moiso is necessarily valueless to other NBA teams, but I also 
don't think we can generalize about Moiso's untapped trade value, based on 
what Philly was willing to give up for him.
Besides, the salient issue is that Moiso had become useless to Boston 
because of his inability to learn or work. I think if there is one thing we 
can say with total confidence, it is that Boston saw every reason to dump 
Moiso despite the risk of losing his "upside". The kid was retard.

As for McCleod's value to Philly, he was similarly the definition of 
"valueless" during his time there (he didn't play). He was a salary cap 
balancer in the trade from Philly's perspective.

Personally, I'm satisfied that we got another shot at a first round pick in 
exchange for "crouching poodle". Given time to ruminate further while we 
twiddled our thumbs, I think Philly could have gone in a different 
direction to land a backup center-forward good for better production.

I'm sure Wallace tried to sell Moiso onto the usual suspects (Houston was 
reportedly high on him going into draft night). But would he have gotten a 
first round pick from Houston or found a package deal elsewhere to unload 
Kenny or Eric Williams off the cap? Maybe, but I sort of doubt it.

Philly is where "Rocky" comes from, and just maybe Jerome may develop the 
"Eye of the Poodle" out there. Who knows? I wish him luck. I'm just glad 
he's no longer a Boston Celtic because he didn't wear the uniform with 
pride, and he's one of the least deserving guaranteed multimillionaires in 
the NBA. These "I'm tall, therefore I need to get paid" type guys totally 
discredit the actual nature of the game, to the degree that most NBA 
players work their asses off and overcome significant hardships in a 
profession that by no means is mentally or physically easy compared to our 
own. No way have I ever woken up every morning at 5:00 am to practice my 
job, like Joe Johnson's been doing. And even if I could jump 48 inches like 
Kedrick Brown, I'd still be hundreds of practice shots per day for the rest 
of my life from being a 75-80% FT shooter like he is. Douchebags like 
"Poodle Boy" take credit away from the sport we love. See you later, Fifi. 
Good riddance.

Joe

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